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How to stop wasting time on social media

The Business Achievers Business Live Events are over. We have been in Belfast, Galway, Cork, Waterford and Dublin. With hugely entertaining panellists from all walks of life and this is another opportunity to thank them all for their contributions. They had wide variety of opinions about marketing, social media, selling, SEO, websites, e-commerce, apps, etc.,, etc.

What struck me about the discussions is the complexity and nuance once you go below the service of what marketing means to business. The number of marketing tools that are now at your disposal as a business owner are enormous. Social media in particular have us all scratching our heads. I have come to the conclusion that it should NOT be about social media, but about the right application of the marketing and communication mix, base on an extreme understanding of your target market, down to near individual level.At its core it is marketing planning and deep market research that are the key success factors. The classic marketing techniques as the foundation for your communication strategy. The 4Ps. Access, education, value and solution,

If you are not thinking this through you will be wasting your time and not only on social media (which is a reference of a question I asked at every panel discussion “Is social media a waste of time?”)

The whole purpose of the live events was to promote the Business Achievers awards as a part of the marketing mix. And funny enough, the questions asked in the application are very relevant to the points made in this blog.

Please describe your business in less than 50 words.

Tell us a little bit about your business. When was it started? Why was it started? Who are your customers? How is it better than the competition? What markets do you operate in?

What are your routes to market. Are you selling direct or through partners? Have you an eCommerce strategy? What’s your pricing strategy? Is there a recurring income element to your pricing?

Where do you see the company in 5 years? How are you going to get there?

Highlight other factors such as staff, community impact, investors, innovation, awards.

Not only will it give you a platform for your story and communication, it will also you help to step back and help you to think things through. Everyone wins.

About ron

Ron is a father of two, business book geek, entreprenerd, author, CEO of Bookbuzz and the co-founder of www.smallbusinesscan.com. He has wide global experience in entrepreneurship and SME development, training, consultancy, publishing, innovation and tech transfer.
Ron is also entrepreneur in residence of the Innovation Academy in UCD, business development expert for the EBRD, is board advisor to a number of exciting start-ups, a fellow of ICM and on the panel of experts in entrepreneurship for the OECD.

About Small Business Can

The idea for Small Business Can comes from an Ulster Bank initiative when we went and talked to hundreds of businesspeople and asked them about the types of business supports they most valued. The majority said that they valued the insights of other businesspeople the most. We came up with smallbusinesscan.com, a site run by businesspeople for businesspeople. Read more...